IRS Encourages Taxpayers to Check Withholding
Are you having enough money withheld from your regular paychecks? The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) has made several significant changes to the tax rules for individuals for 2018 through 2025. As a result, many taxpayers who previously itemized deductions are expected to claim the standard deduction, starting in 2018. 3 Families Who Might Need…
Sales Tax: Supreme Court Ruling Affects Retailers and Consumers
A new U.S. Supreme Court ruling paves the way for states to require Internet sellers to collect sales tax from consumers — even if they don’t have a physical presence in the state. (South Dakota v. Wayfair, No. 17-494, June 21, 2018) In doing so, the Court has reversed the long-standing, but controversial, precedent in…
Plan Ahead to Make Payments to Retired Partners
Payments made to liquidate a retired partner’s ownership interest in the partnership (other than payments for his or her share of certain partnership assets) are usually subject to the federal self-employment tax (also known as SE tax). That can amount to a large tax bite. An IRS private letter ruling only applies to the specific…
Six Tactics To Improve Your Search Engine Results
To increase website traffic, you need to employ two corresponding, yet very different methods to help your site land top rankings in the major search engines, search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM). Don’t become confused by the two terms or use them interchangeably: SEO is the process of improving the visibility of…
Videoconferencing: Sharpen Your Company’s Focus
Travel costs can quickly mount for many companies, so you may want to look into videoconferencing as a way to keep the spending down and the bottom line solid. Surveys put the cost of the average domestic business trip at around $1,000, including air, car and hotel, while international trips run a little over $3,500. And that’s…
Use Existing Technology to Find Fraud
The best way to uncover fraud is to use software built specifically for that purpose. But fraud detection software can be expensive and may require major resources to put in place and monitor. Taking a Closer Look Here are two examples of employees detecting fraud in the course of using software for their jobs.Example #1: An employee…
Tax Reform: What’s Changing for Individuals?
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act makes sweeping changes to the tax rules for individuals. But some of the new provisions won’t necessarily be relevant to your situation. Here’s a quick reference guide to the major issues under the new law to help you understand what’s changing.In general, the changes for individual taxpayers are effective for…
Enhance your Profit with This 12-Step Plan
Chances are, you have some great ideas on ways to increase profits at your company. But it takes more than ideas to make progress. It takes specific goals and a plan that will put feet under your ideas. Set up a profit enhancement road map within the next year at your company by following these…
Beware of Deductions Claimed for Certain Business Expenses
To be deductible, a business expense must be both ordinary and necessary. An ordinary expense is one that is common and accepted in your field of business. A necessary expense is one that’s helpful and appropriate for your business. Beyond Personal ExpensesConstructive dividends can come in many shapes and sizes. The most common example is…
The Fine Points of a Buy-Sell Agreement
A buy-sell agreement provides family business co-owners with protection so they don’t lose control of their ventures. It restricts each shareholder, partner or member of a business from unilaterally transferring an ownership interest to anyone outside the group. It also ensures there will be a willing buyer for each co-owner’s interest when he or she…